Hobbits In 4
by Isil Elensar
Summary: Four vignettes. Four hobbits. All siblings in their tweens. A little mischief, and a little fun. A perfect mix for hobbit children! Written for Marigold's Challenge 12.
1. Laurel

"_Come down here at once! Do you hear me_ Amaranth? I said come down here!"

Laurel stood under the tree, in which Amaranth had shimmied up, her hands on her hips and her foot tapping rapidly. This was certainly unexpected of her littlest sister, and they had to get home before supper.

"What for, Laurel? Look! You can see our fields from here!"

"I know that! Come down this instant before I get Halfred to come after you!"

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"Because Halfred and Lalia are already heading for home!" Amaranth giggled and climbed further up the tree. Laurel gaped as she watched her sister scramble up. Then an idea came to her.

"Alright then, I'm leaving too. Mama will be serving supper by the time I get home..."

"Supper? Is it really supper time already?"

"Yes, it is. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to be late."

Laurel turned on her heel and began to walk away. She was not so far away that she couldn't hear Amaranth making her way out of the tree. Leaves on the branches shook, twigs broke, and she heard a soft thud on the ground that announced her little sister's emergence from the tree. Laughing, Laurel began to jog, then run, as she heard Amaranth trying to catch up to her.

It soon became a race to get home first. Amaranth had caught up to Laurel, and Laurel wasn't about to get beaten by her little sister. The path in Bindbale Wood soon became the road that would lead them back home to Oatbarton. It wasn't that far, and they even passed Halfred and Lalia as they went.

Taking a chance, Laurel left the road and cut across Farmer Mungo's field. 'I'll beat her going this way, surely!' Laurel thought as she ran through the rows of barley. But it was to her chagrin to see Amaranth ahead of her, reaching the front porch stoop just before she did.

"How…?" Laurel managed to ask while trying to catch her breath.

"I left the road a little after you did, Laurel."

"But, I took the…"

"There's more than one short-cut home, Laurel," Amaranth said as she grinned. "Besides, you should know that I'm never late for mama's cookin'!"

Laurel laughed and followed her sister into their home, with Halfred and Lalia coming in close behind her.

"Mama! We're home! What's for supper?"


	2. Lalia

"_Well it certainly wasn't my fault," _Laurel declared as they stood watching the basket float away down Bywater Brook.

"Yes it was! If you hadn't tried to take the basket away, we would still have our lunch!" Lalia shouted back. "Now we have to go back home, and I doubt mama will give us another basket."

They glared at each other for a moment, then a thought came into Laurel's head. They weren't at all far from Bindbale Wood, and she knew of at least one big blackberry patch hidden within. Taking off in the direction the basket had gone, she followed the brook downstream.

"Laurel! Where are you going?" Lalia called after her. "Come back!"

But it was no use. Annoyed, but slightly curious, Lalia ran after Laurel. The farther she ran, the more curious she became. Then, she saw her sister cut to the right, down the road that led into Bindbale.

'Whatever could be in there?' she asked herself as she slowly caught up to her sister. When it seem that Laurel would stop anytime soon, she began to wonder what had gotten into her sister. Then, Laurel cut to the left, off the road and into the trees.

Lalia stopped and watched her go while she caught her breath. Laurel did not go very far. She ran into what looked like a group of small hedges. Once she caught her breath, Lalia ran to meet her sister. When she got closer to the hedges, she noticed little black spots, which only meant one thing. Blackberries!

"Laurel, when did you find these?" Lalia asked her, as she kneeled down beside her sister and began picking the ripe berries.

"Last week," Laurel said rather nonchalantly and shrugged. "I thought these would make as good a lunch as any."

Lalia smiled at her older sister, the basket forgotten. They laughed and picked berries, feeding themselves and laughing at the stains that began appearing on their hands and mouths. When all they ate the berries from one bush, they moved to the next. It was then that Lalia discovered something else. Something that was almost as good as blackberries.

"Mushrooms!" Lalia cried out as she quickly got to her feet.

"Mushrooms? Where?" Laurel asked excitedly as she too got to her feet. Lalia pointed first, then ran out of the blackberry patch to the mushrooms. There, the sisters found that the mushrooms were indeed edible, and they sat among them eating until they had their fill. Leaning back against a pair of trees, Lalia and Laurel sighed contentedly.

"Should we tell Amaranth and Halfred about the blackberries and mushrooms?" Laurel said, breaking the silence.

"Why? Let them find their own!" Lalia said.

"Then how are we going to explain the stains?"

Lalia thought for a moment, then looked over at her sister. "Well, if they ask then I guess we should tell them. But why don't we take some back to them. Maybe they won't ask."

Laurel agreed and they gathered up mushrooms and blackberries in their aprons. They walked back to the road and went out of the wood. Suddenly, Lalia stopped short.

"What is it?" Laurel asked.

"What about the basket?"

"If we tell mama the truth, I don't think she'll be too angry with us. Besides, she has a lot of baskets."

"Perhaps you're right," Lalia agreed and the two sisters continued down the road. When they came from Farmer Mungo's field and got to their house, they were met by Amaranth and Halfred. They dumped out the berries and mushrooms and shared them with their brother and sister.

"Where did you find these, Lalia?" Amaranth asked.

"In the woods," both Lalia and Laurel answered, each with a mysterious smile and a mischievous glint in their eyes.


	3. Amaranth

"_Amaranth! That's not polite, now is it?" _Halfred said after his little sister stuck her tongue out at Farmer Mungo's wife. "Apologize right now."

"I will not!" Amaranth said as she turned her head away, crossed her arms over her chest, and began to tap her foot. After all, it wasn't her fault that she knocked over the pies in the window.

She was only enjoying the smell of the freshly baked blackberry pies. When the farmer's wife hollered at her to get away, it surprised her, made her jump and knock over the pretty pies. Never mind the fact that she was going to sneak a taste.

Amaranth loved Missus Mungo's pies. She could always tell when there was another pie ready to eat, and she always got the first slice from Missus Mungo. Sometimes, she got a taste before that first slice. But she always made sure to cover up her finger-mark with care. This time, however, Missus Mungo caught her at it.

"Well, if she won't apologize, I will have to stop giving her the first slice as always," Missus Mungo said to Halfred as she went inside her house.

Amaranth didn't notice, as her head was still turned away, that Missus Mungo winked and smiled at Halfred. He tried not to laugh. It seemed Missus Mungo would still give his little sister that first slice, but first she wanted the apology.

"Come on, Amaranth. Let's go home," Halfred solemnly told her. But instead of walking back to their house, he heard Amaranth sob, then run off in the other direction, toward the road.

"Amaranth! Come back!"

Amaranth heard him, but paid him no mind. She kept running until she came to her favorite spot that only she knew about. It was a rock that hung out over the widest part of the brook. The sun always warmed the rock, and she loved to hear the water as it hurried by. 'It's not my fault I knocked over those pies,' she thought as she plopped down on the rock. 'It isn't fair that I should be punished!'

But the more she thought of it, the more she knew that she really shouldn't have been trying to sneak a taste of the pies. The stubborn part of her kept saying that it still wasn't her fault. If she hadn't of been scared by Missus Mungo... Now, she probably wouldn't get any pie at all. 'No first slice, and no second slice. No pie at all,' Amaranth lamented. She would miss those pies.

"So this is where I find you," came Halfred's voice. Amaranth started then turned quickly to face him. Since there was no point in asking him how he found her, she got right to the point.

"Is Missus Mungo really going to not give me any pie?"

"I should think not. You upset all her pies and didn't apologize."

"Why do I need to apologize for an accident?"

"It's only polite. It's kind of like when you bump into someone. Even if you didn't mean it, you apologize, and everything is alright again."

Amaranth thought about it a little longer. Then, making her decision, she slowly got up and dusted herself off. She walked over to Halfred, smiled at him, then ran off again.

Amaranth ran through the fields and finally stopped at Missus Mungo's door. Gathering up her courage, she went to knock on the door. Before she got there, though, Missus Mungo opened the door. She had her hands behind her back, but Amaranth didn't think twice about it.

"I'm sorry, Missus Mungo," she said softly, hanging her head and shuffled one of her feet. "I didn't mean to knock over your pies."

"Why didn't you apologize before, dear?"

"I didn't think it was my fault."

"It still would've been polite to apologize."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"That's alright right, dear. Apology accepted!"

Amaranth looked up and saw Missus Mungo smiling. From around her back, Missus Mungo brought out a small plate, which had a slice of blackberry pie on it.

"I had one that was already cool and ready to eat," Missus Mungo said as she handed the plate to Amaranth.


	4. Halfred

"_Well come and get it then, I'm not going to bring it to you,"_ Halfred shouted out to Lalia after dinner. The family had decided to eat dinner outside this evening, and he had gone in to get some cake.

"But Halfred! You're already over there. Couldn't you just bring me a piece of cake?" Lalia asked from her place at the table.

"You've got two legs, Lalia. You can very well come and get your own."

Halfred grinned as he watched his younger sister stand up and walk slowly inside, turning back to their sisters with a long-suffering look. She didn't know he had already cut her piece of cake, as well as Laurel's and Amaranth's. His protest was only made in jest, and he only used it occasionally. 'I am the oldest after all,' he thought. When Lalia came into the kitchen, he turned and surprised her, handing her one of the plates of cake.

"Halfred! I thought you said…"

"What? And miss the look on your face when you came in here? Why would I do such a thing? Here," he said as he handed her another plate of cake. "You take that to Amaranth. I'll take this to Laurel," he said as he picked up the last plate.

Lalia laughed at him as she lead the way back out of the house. As they approached the table, they heard their sisters laugh uproariously at a joke their father had just told. Lalia handed Amaranth her piece of cake as she sat back down in her place at the table. Halfred put Laurel's plate down in front of her, then set his own down. He did not sit down, but looked at his parents with a smile.

"Ma? Pa? Would you like some cake, too?" he asked politely.

"Yes, please," his father answered. Halfred saw his mother's smile and took that for a 'yes' as well.

Going back into the house, he didn't notice that Lalia had followed him. Humming a little tune to himself, he sliced and plated his parents' cake, picked them up, and was on his way back outside when he noticed Lalia blocking the doorway.

"What's going on with you, Halfred?"

"Whatever do you mean? I'm just getting cake for Ma and Pa."

"No, that's not what I mean and you know it! You've been acting very odd lately. Fetching, serving, helping Ma with the cooking, cleaning, sewing, as well as all the work you do for Pa…" she stopped with her little rant and squinted her eyes, scrutinizing him for a moment.

"Who is she? Who's the lucky lass that's caught your attention?" she asked all of the sudden. The blush that crept up Halfred's face confirmed that she had guessed correctly. Halfred had finally fallen in love! Squealing, Lalia did a little jig, hopped up and down, and clapped her hands. Her face was all smiles and she grabbed one of the plates from Halfred and ran back outside.

"Lalia!" Halfred cried as he took off after her. He wanted to catch her and make her swear not to tell anyone anything. But it was too late.

"Guess what everyone?" Lalia announced to the family as she handed her mother the cake and took her place at the table again. Glancing at a still blushing Halfred, her voice took on a conspiratory, sing-song tone when she had their attention.

"Halfred's in love!"


End file.
